Europe, Australia, Far East

Europe, Australia, Far East

The regions containing most major markets outside North America. The MSCI EAFE Index tracks securities in Europe, Australia, and the Far East and is considered a major indicator of the direction of global markets.

Dollars column in Table 10 revealed that equity markets for five countries, Austria, Denmark, France, Norway, and the United Kingdom and the EAFE portfolio had returns lower than the United States for the period 1993-1998.

But Dick Vartadanian, chief investment strategist at New York's Republic National Bank, suggests that when comparing the EAFE and the S&P 500, it's important to recognize that the two are measured differently.

If you were lucky enough to invest in the three best performers in EAFE last year (and hedged all your currency risk), you would have come away with 57%; if you picked the worst three, you would have lost 30%.

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.